Improvements in China’s energy efficiency may be associated with increased energy consumption, a new study has found. The study used an exergy-based approach to estimate the rebound effect at the national level. The analysis showed that in China, improvements in energy efficiency may be associated with increased levels of energy consumption overall – so-called “backfire”. …

Grassroots innovations can have unforeseen but important political dimensions that go beyond their immediate communities, argues Dr Mari Martiskainen at the second international Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative (SCORAI) conference